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Half of People Who Buy Vinyl Records Don't Own a Record Player
An explanation of why people buy things they'll never use
Last year vinyl records outsold CDs for the first time since 1987, begging the question: Who is buying all of these LPs? A weird, partial answer comes from entertainment data company Luminate: According to their "Top Entertainment Trends for 2023" report, 50% of people who purchase vinyl records don't even own a record player.
The survey also showed that overall just 15% of music listeners own a turntable. As for the ones who don't but buy records anyway, what are they doing with them? Luminate doesn't drill down, but does mention that "super fans" of artists are almost three times more likely to have purchased vinyl in the past year. The company describes these super fans as "music listeners who spend above average (median) time AND money on music, actively discover new music, participate in music-related activities on social media, and plan on attending a live music event in the next 12 months."
Image: Alina Vilchenko
Furthermore, they present the values of super fans, in order:
1. Social Signaling
2. Expression of Identity
3. The Community
So one might conclude that if you don't have a record player, buying a record signals to your Instagram followers that you're cool, makes you secure in your identity, and makes you part of a group. (Actually listening to it apparently isn't part of the experience.)
Image: Marlene Leppänen
Aside from the social signaling enabled by social media, this trend—of buying things you won't use—isn't new; for decades people have purchased athletic gear, ambitious books, router bit sets, clothes one size smaller, kitchen gadgets and more that simply gather dust, but were acquired to reinforce one's idea of oneself.
Image: Stas Knop
So if this trend accelerates, who stands to gain? The artists? The manufacturers of this stuff? The shippers? The designers, where products are involved?
I'd say just one group is guaranteed to make out: The owners of self-service storage units.
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I don't have a record player, but I bought a vintage copy of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass album "Going Places" at Goodwill, just for the album cover. If I ever find a copy of "Whipped Cream and Other Delights" I will buy that too. Does new vinyl have any interesting cover art?
A lot of new vinyl coming out has interesting art.
As a reformed collector of vinyl (clean for over 10 years thank you) I can add that this has been the case for at least 20 years. I started really buying records in the late 90s and outside of very obscure stuff that was on no other format, most people still just put on the CD or MP3s.
Why don't you collect anymore? Do you still have your collection or did you get rid of everything?
This doesn't seem significantly different than people buying collectors items to display in the box, at least with vinyl you usually get a digital download code.
I have a Juicy Salif. While I did use it once, would have to say I purchased it as social signaling. But I'm old, it's in-person, people over to the house social signaling. None of this social media nonsense. Now excuse me, I see young people on my lawn.
A juicy what?!?